A Life After Death
by Mortalita
Summary: Sasori is waiting in a heaven-like world for Deidara after he died. Kakuzu and Hidan are there too. When Deidara finally joins them, can Sasori tell the dead bomber how he feels? SasoDei and hinted KakuHida. rated T for Hidanness


**A/N:** Yes, yes...I know that I should be updating Asking Forgiveness. At this very moment it is open and I am nearing a halfway mark with chapter two after a HUGE brick wall that was built by those darn plot bunnies...

So anyway. I got thinking about some stuff...Like a Sasori with emotions, and where did Akatsuki members go after death? That was hard to think about because of my beliefs (which is, if you believe in something enough it can be true, so no bigotry of religions are possible for me!) and so I came up with a limbo place where you could decide and such of where you wanted to go.

I also apologize for the fluffiness of this. I don't really write fluff. I like my plotholes and such...but I couldn't leave this alone! Damn you, plot bunnies!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto I would be a guy (which I'm not) and I would have money (which I don't) and be good at drawing (pfft, I wish)

_Warnings: _Um, there is a little yaoi (boyxboy) and Hidanness, that foulmouth, lol..and some plot spoilers if you don't know how Deidara died, or who Tobi is, other stuff too (not really sure, but I warned you!).

Akasuna no Sasori laid on his stomach and watched the little people below through a window he had made in the clouds. Not much had happened since he died, at least not a lot of interesting things that he would mention or bother trying to remember. He didn't bother watch his enemies either, because it wasn't like he was able to warn the remaining Akatsuki members of their plots. He'd feel better if he didn't know what the other side was thinking.

Feelings...yes, that had been on his mind a lot. After getting to this place he realized that he could feel. It sucked. Stars above, er...around, did it suck. Luckily there wasn't the big thing of feeling the pain of dying. No, he was dead before regaining his feelings and for that he was glad. He didn't like pain much. After tripping on the kami-forsaken robes that he showed wearing and falling flat on his face he knew that pain wasn't nice. He couldn't understand why Hidan enjoyed it so damn much.

Sasori was about to stand when he remembered...he had wings. Oh yes, those were very nice. His were large and a nice deep brown, like the color of a finely stained piece of wood. Now standing, he wrapped the appendages around himself and smiled slightly at the fluffy warmth that surrounded him. He stroked one of his wings absently, mildly enjoying the fact that he could feel the feathers under his fingertips.

That was so different. When he first opened his eyes and seen his completely white surroundings he had to close his eyes again suddenly. It was too bright and hurt his eyes. It wasn't a big pain, but it did irritate him. Once his eyes had adjusted he looked at the large book that had almost appeared next to him and began to read. There wasn't much else around for him to do.

The book was filled with explanations. It got down to business on the very first page and said in large and friendly looking letters: _You are dead._

Great. Just the news he wanted. He remembered the dying part. He continued to read and absorbed the information. He could watch people by picturing them in his mind's eye and waving a hand in front of him, as if to wipe away some of the cotton candy clouds that were surprisingly _not_ bouncy and soft under his feet (which his nose found out when he had stood). It also told him that if he concentrated on someone he knew was already dead, he could visit them...or if he thought hard about a place he had once been he could visit it, as long as no one walked through him of course.

Sasori couldn't think of anywhere he wanted to visit and kept reading. He realized that time didn't pass, and the light around him never dimmed (unless he wanted it to of course). There was no hunger, no thirst...but he hardly remembered what that was like from before he became a puppet, so he didn't miss it much.

After reading the book he thought about who he might know...maybe visiting someone who was dead he could get some questions answered. The first person to pop into his head was Hidan, and no sooner did he think it did Hidan fade into view through the clouds.

"Sasori?" The zealot questioned. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I'm dead, idiot. As are you." He looked at the blood red wings on Hidan's back, maybe his 'Jashin' was pleased with him and gave him such a color for feathers.

"Where the fuck are we?" The lavender eyes darted around at the white clouds that gently moved around them.

Sasori waved his hand slightly, moving a puff of cloud up so he could sit on it. He crossed his legs, something that he never did before, but it was comfortable...yet another weird feeling. "Some sort of otherworld I suppose. Afterlife? Shangri la? Heaven? I don't know. The book didn't give me a proper name."

"Book? You read that fucking thing?"

"You didn't?"

"I don't have time to waste reading some Jashin damned book!"

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "You're dead, Hidan. You have all the time in the world."

Hidan sighed and ran a hand through his silvery hair. "I guess you're right. Dammit. This sucks ass." He looked down at the white robe he was wearing. "What the fuck is this? I'm in a fucking dress! Some wanker up here must be laughing his ass off whenever some dip shit dies so he can shove him in this crap." He grumbled and plopped on the ground. "I'd be better if it was black...or some other fucking color." He was too busy grousing to realize that the robe was slowly changing colors.

"Hidan, look at yourself." Sasori was amused, which was weird. Something felt lighter in him. He stuck his hand inside the robe for a moment and realized that there was no container for his heart. He jumped up the same as Hidan did.

"It's not white! Kick ass! I wonder if I could get my old Akatsuki robe back!"

"Why do you want that?" Sasori was opening the front of his robe to see...flesh.

The Jashinist looked over at the puppet to see why he was opening robe. "Holy shit, Puppet! You're human! Or as human as some dead fuck can be...but still. Shit!"

"Right. No more puppet. That is weird..." He looked at the robe he was in and desperately wished for a plain mesh shirt, with a black tee over it and his old loose pants that he had always worn. Soon enough the robe melted away and he had his old clothes on. "Much better."

"That is fucking creepy." Hidan shook his head and looked at himself. It couldn't hurt to try, right? Not that the Jashinist would mind the pain. He would welcome it with arms bloody wide open. (**A/N:** **Love the irony, eh?**) In moments he was sitting, cross legged, in his old pants. His feet were bare and his amulet with the triangle within a circle was around his neck again. "Shit!"

"I wonder how Kakuzu is doing...?" Sasori glanced around.

"How the hell should I know? That fucker could be counting his money for all I give a damn. I don't even know how you found me." Hidan didn't notice that Kakuzu was fading into sight behind him as he spoke.

"You just have to think about them, you whiny little bitch." Kakuzu hit the back of Hidan's head, forcing him to kiss the ground. He had read the book, he was dressed like he had always been, although there was a slight difference. The masks that were usually stitched to his back were gone, most likely because he didn't need them here. His mask was gone too, leaving his stitched face for all to see. His wings were golden, almost like the money he had constantly counted, and laced with thread weaving between feathers and braided over the joints.

Hidan's eyes widened at his ex-partners entrance. "Hey! Kuzu! How the fuck are you?"

Kuzu rolled his bright green eyes. "I see death hasn't changed you one bit, Hidan."

Sasori stood and the cloud that had been his chair dissolved. "I'll be going. I want to check on the world below again, see if anything has developed. You two might want to...catch up." Sasori smirked and walked away, letting his thoughts drift away from them. Hidan's swears faded quickly and the ex-puppet shook his head.

Sasori glanced back at the view he had of the little people and sharpened the view with a few thoughts. He wanted to check up on Deidara. He decided the best way to go about it was to actually go there personally, and no sooner did he think it was he there.

Sasori walked through the base, and even thought it was the middle of the night he could see everything perfectly. He went to open the door of Deidara's room when his hand slipped right through the door. Sasori shuddered, the feeling was odd and he didn't like it. Taking a slow breath, not that he needed to breathe, he stepped through the door.

He shivered once in the room. It wasn't because of going through the door either. The room was clean. There was hardly any clay in sight. That wasn't usual. There was supposed to be clay _everywhere_. He wandered over to the bed and saw Deidara curled around his pillow, hugging it tight.

Sasori neared the bed and saw the puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks of his now ex-partner. "Oh, Dei..." Sasori's voice was soft with compassion. The weeks he had been gone had taken their toll on the artist. Wait, it had been weeks right? Time passed so differently there and Sasori wasn't sure how long he had been gone. Sasori swallowed the lump in his throat and reached out to touch Deidara.

"Danna..." Deidara breathed in his sleep.

Sasori stopped. Deidara was thinking of him? He ached to touch the blond bomber that he hadn't been able to claim while he was still alive. He knew that he couldn't touch Deidara. If his ethereal body touched the artist's solid one he would be pulled back to the Netherland (as Sasori came to call it). "I'm here, brat."

A tear squeezed out of the blond's eye. "Danna...come back...please Danna."

"I...I can't Dei." Sasori stepped back, he couldn't take this anymore. He didn't want to hurt anymore. Inside him it felt like something was ripping him apart. He restlessly ran a pale hand through his messy crimson hair. He wanted to drag the boy's body close to him and never let go.

"Dannaaaa..." Deidara awoke with a start and looked around. "Danna?" His eye bored right through Sasori, he couldn't see him.

"Deidara..." Sasori bit his bottom lip, frustrated with himself and these feelings that were threating to choke him.

"Sasori Danna...I miss you...so much." The blond pulled his legs up to his chest and curled up. He brushed the tears away harshly. "Don't worry Danna, I'll come to you soon. I have a few loose ends to tie, but I promise I'll see you again. I'll come after my greatest masterpiece. It'll be a bang, Danna." He gave a half-hearted and watery smile.

"I'm sure it will, brat." Sasori leaned over the younger boy and kissed his forehead before feeling the tendrils of the Netherland dragged him back to the cottony cloud. There was a warm dampness on his cheek. With shaking hands he reached up and felt them. He was crying for the first time since he couldn't remember when.

He felt a tug and knew that his memories from before he wanted to remember were waiting for him to visit. He withdrew his mind from them, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to remember, all he wanted was his Deidara.

Once again Sasori found himself watching Deidara from the window. His fight with the younger Uchiha wasn't going the best. The blond was breathing heavily and he was severely weakened, not that he would show it in front of one of the Uchiha's, whom he hated too passionately.

"That's what pisses me off about you!" Deidara screamed at the Uchiha. "You and your accursed brother!" He stared down Sasuke and was even more enraged when the boy was completely calm and only asked where his brother was.

Sasori watched as the bomber grew desperate and used a hand to bite through the stitches that sealed the mouth in his chest.

Sasori's eyes widened. He wouldn't seriously do that, would he? He swallowed and clenched him fists, "Deidara, don't be stupid. You brat, you can still beat him! Don't let his cool facade shake you."

Below the bomber ripped the thread out of the mouth and took out a huge ball of clay from a pouch. He fed the mouth and started to laugh, "Behold...my masterpiece! SELF DESTRUCTION!" Threads laced through the bomber, like dark veins. In only moments did he explode.

"Dei! You idiot!" Sasori yelled. 'Oh, when he gets up here...I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!' He stomped around waiting. It was taking so long. Why wasn't Deidara here yet? Why couldn't he bring himself into that baka's sight and slap him senseless?

Finally, he could feel the tug. Deidara sifted into his sights. The bomber's wings were an ash gray and a few of the feathers were singed or askew. Sasori had expected no less from the artist who went out with a bang. "Brat."

Deidara jumped up, startled to hear his Danna's voice so soon. "Sasori no Danna? What you doing here, yeah? What is here? What happened, un?"

"You blew yourself up, you idiot!" Sasori was seething. "How stupid are you? You were so rash and-"

Deidara jumped on Sasori and the puppet master couldn't speak. He could feel the body he had wanted to pull close to him. He hadn't felt another human in so long. He could barely keep himself from wrapping his own arms around the taller man, but he did. "I missed you, Danna."

"I know."

"I went out with a bang, just like I said, yeah."

"I know."

"Danna, un?" Deidara let go and looked down at the shorter man. "How do I get out of the robe thing?"

Sasori chuckled and explained. "Just think about what you would rather be wearing. This place concentrates a lot on thinking. Too bad you'll have trouble with that."

"Danna!" Deidara whined. "Wait...did you just make a joke? Danna, do you feel alright?"

"Yes, brat. I'm fine. Just different." He spread his arms slowly, "See? Wings."

"I see that, Sasori no Danna. But...are you still a puppet, un?" Deidara poked Sasori a few times and was surprised to find out that he was squishy.

"Puppets don't come here, baka." Sasori's brow arched gracefully over a gray eye. "Are you going to change or what?"

"Huh? Oh, right." He thought about the clothes he had been wearing, the ones he always wore. They were comfortable. He left out the shoes because he figured he wouldn't need them anymore if he had wings. "The masked idiot isn't here, right?"

Sasori shook his head. "I can't believe Pein replaced me with that. Uchiha or not."

"That little bastard is a Uchiha?!" Deidara growled.

"That little bastard is the reason why the Uchiha clan was reduced to only three members." Sasori raised an eyebrow. "I learned that here, when I still cared about what was going on down there."

Deidara ignored the first part and concentrated on the second half of what his Danna had said, 'when he still cared about what was going on...he must not feel about me the way I do him, un.'

"It was boring up here, until I ran into Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan didn't read the book and was completely clueless as to everything up here. I doubt you'll read the book either..." Sasori finished his sentence in his head, 'Not that it matters, because I've got you now and no one's taking you away.'

"Hidan and Kakuzu are here? Where, un?" The blue eye opened wider.

"Don't think about them too much unless you want to see them. That's how things work here." Sasori could already feel the pull and knew that Deidara wasn't the only one who was thinking about the other Akatsuki members.

Soon enough Hidan and Kakuzu were in sight. The zealot smirked. "Nice exit, faggot. I could see the lights from up here without even watching!"

"Really?!" Deidara grinned, ignoring the sexual orientation jab. "It must have been a fantastic display of my talents! See, Danna! I told you so, yeah! My art is better. You always thought that eternal stuff was real art, but even you didn't live forever, un." The bomber was rubbing it in.

Sasori let him, for now. "I watched, brat. It was some explosion. Very bright. Looked like a giant sock puppet."

Hidan snickered, "Ha, the little fucker got you good." He leaned on Kakuzu for support while he laughed. Even his wings quivered with the mirth that was shaking him.

Deidara's mind slapped back to the 'fag' jibe. "I'm not as gay as you are, Hidan. Getting all touchy-feely with your lover I see, un."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, 'Here we go.'

"Fuck you, you dumb blond." Hidan's lavender eyes flashed. "Go screw your little toy."

Sasori raised an eyebrow. _He_ was the toy? 'I don't think so. There is no way I'm going to be the uke.' Sasori sighed aloud, "Enough, Hidan. Your acting like you belong in kindergarten."

"What are you trying to say, you prick?!" Hidan stopped leaning and brandished a fist at the ex-puppet. He stopped there, however because Kakuzu wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back with a nod to the other two, excusing them for now.

"I was going to protect you, yeah."

Sasori wrapped an arm around Dei's waist, under his wings. "Sure, Dei. I believe you." He pulled the bomber closer to him.

Deidara stiffened under the friendly touch. This wasn't the same Danna who had left him. "U-um, Danna? Wh-what are you doing, yeah?"

Sasori rested his head against the blond's chest and almost smiled at the warmth that he could feel coming from him. "Getting comfy, brat."

"Why, un?" Deidara gulped nervously. 'What the heck is going on?'

"Because I want to. It's different not being a puppet anymore. I want to feel things. I have emotions. It's very new to me, even though I've been dead I don't know how long." Sasori nuzzled his face against Deidara's chest.

Deidara wondered if he had gone loopy. His Danna was hugging him and snuggling against him. He could feel things now, he had emotions...maybe he had feelings too? "D-Danna...? I...I still like you, un."

"I know Dei."

"A-a lot...yeah."

"I know."

"You know a lot, huh?"

Sasori turned his gray eyes up to the blue one that was staring back at him incredulously. "Yes, I do. I know lots of things that I didn't before." He leaned up and pressed his lips lightly to the blond's, nearly melting against him from the softness of his lips.

Deidara pulled back, surprised. "Danna?!" He squeaked and stumbled backwards until they were laying on the ground. "Ow...owowow..." He sat up some and moved a wing out of the way.

"Are you okay?" Concern was in the beautiful eyes that didn't want to leave Deidara's.

"Y-yeah, un." Deidara tried to get up, but Sasori didn't let him. "S-Sasori Danna? What's wrong."

"Deidara...after coming here I learned a lot. Realized a lot too. I came to terms with several things that happened during my life that I couldn't understand while I was a puppet." His eyes were boring into Deidara's.

"R-really?" Deidara laid back down slowly, not removing his eyes from Sasori. "Like what, un?"

"I realized I had feelings for someone during my time alive."

"Oh." Dei was crestfallen. Who could it be? "Who?"

Sasori sat up, not noticing that he was straddling a certain blond bomber. "Well...this person was very important to me, though I could not see it at the time. We argued a lot, and they turned my life upside down. At the time I hated them for it, I didn't like change. Over time I grew to expect it. We were close, until I hurt them. I hurt them so badly by leaving forever."

Deidara _did_ notice how Sasori was sitting and had some problems controlling himself. "Danna, please don't tell me anymore." Pain was audible in his voice. "I don't wanna here it, un."

Sasori leaned closer to Deidara and brushed a strand of blond hair out of his eyes. "Deidara, I am sorry for shunning your feelings the first time. I am sorry for dying and leaving you by yourself. My time here has opened my eyes, really opened them." He sighed and got off of the artist. "I know why I felt odd around you, even though I mistreated you so much." He pulled his knees to his chest and watched the taller man rise.

Deidara turned and faced Sasori, crossing his legs and leaning forward. "What are you trying to tell me, Danna? What is so hard for you to say, un?"

"Dei...I want you to stay with me." Gray eyes searched the tanned face for some sort of good reaction. Something that told him the answer was yes.

"I'm already here Danna. You can visit me whenever I guess, yeah. This place seems to let you visit a lot, un." Deidara gave a halfhearted smile. He flicked a piece of hair out of his eyes.

"No, brat. I don't want you to leave my sight. I want you to spend your eternity...with me." Sasori waited with baited breath, what would his bomber say now?

"What are you trying to say, Danna?"

"Deidara...I'm saying..." Sasori gnawed on his bottom lip.

"Yes...?"

"I'm saying that I am in love with you." Sasori mumbled, a blush creeping over his cheeks. He could feel his face get warm, a new feeling if there ever say one.

"S-Sasori Danna? Am I hearing you correctly, un?" Deidara's eye was wide. His Danna loved him? "Are you really in love with me?"

Sasori rolled his eyes and leaned forward, pressing his lips to the blond's. Deidara answered hungrily, a hand fisting itself in the puppet master's crimson hair. He didn't let go of the small man for a while. Not needing to breathe was definitely a benefit of being dead.

"Yes, Dei." He answered when they finally broke apart. "I love you with every fiber of my being and I want to spend my eternity with you."

Deidara launched himself at his Danna and hugged him tight. "Me too, un! I love you, Sasori no Danna!"

Sure, forever was a long time. But that long time filled with a lover (and occasionally harassing a money-whore and cussing zealot) can be quite enjoyable.


End file.
